Sebastian Vettel has confirmed the incident in which he was robbed after the F1 Spanish Grand Prix but retrieved his belongings on a scooter – but insisted “it wasn’t really a chase”.
Vettel was driving an Aston Martin road car on Monday morning, less than 24 hours after the Spanish Grand Prix, when his bag was stolen after he briefly stepped outside.
“He tried to find it by using his iPhone to track his earphones which were in his bag; but when he located his earphones he found them abandoned and was therefore unable to locate his stolen bag,” an Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team spokesperson said.
Vettel has now said ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix: “I found the headphones but didn’t find the bag, so it wasn’t really a chase, but obviously a bit disappointed to lose the bag.”
Asked where he found the headphones, Vettel replied: “They were in the bag, but once I found them, they were in a flowerpot.
“So [the robbers] must have known you can track [the headphones].”
It had initially been reported by local Catalan media that Vettel chased the assailants using an electric scooter borrowed from a member of the public.
He defied police requests to give chase, it was reported.
Vettel’s moped woe at F1 Australian GP
Vettel has twice suffered while on two wheels this season.
At the Australian Grand Prix he was fined $5000 being in violation of Article 26.7 of the Sporting Regulations when, with smoke billowing out of his Aston Martin during practice, he hitched a ride back to the garage on a moped belonging to a steward.